Dietland
A Best Book of the Year: Entertainment Weekly • Bustle • Women’s National Book Association • Kirkus Reviews • BookPage • LitReactor
“Dietland completely blew me away. It's audacious and gutsy and heartbreaking and I want to grab women on the street and shake them until they promise to read it—and also buy copies for their daughters.” —Jennifer Weiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Good In Bed and In Her Shoes,
Plum Kettle does her best not to be noticed, because when you’re fat, to be noticed is to be judged. With her job answering fan mail for a teen magazine, she is biding her time until her weight-loss surgery. But when a mysterious woman in colorful tights and combat boots begins following her, Plum falls down a rabbit hole into the world of Calliope House — an underground community of women who reject society’s rules — and is forced to confront the real costs of becoming “beautiful.” At the same time, a guerilla group begins terrorizing a world that mistreats women, and Plum becomes entangled in a sinister plot. The consequences are explosive.
“A giddy revenge fantasy that will shake up your thinking and burrow under your skin” (Entertainment Weekly), Dietland takes on the beauty industry, gender inequality, and our weight-loss obsession — with fists flying.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
Plum, and overweight woman, with very little self-confidence, meets a mysterious woman who changes Plum's life.
Dietland is a feminist coming of age story. While Plum is already and adult at the beginning of the story, she finds herself growing in confidence at the end. Good story!
Dietland by Sarai Walker
307 pages
What’s it about?
Plum Kettle is morbidly obese. She has been “big” her whole life. She has felt different,isolated, and disdained because of how she looks. This novel begins as Plum contemplates her upcoming bariatric surgery. According to Plum her life will begin as soon as she loses weight. Her life thus far has been a holding pattern. A whole other person is waiting to emerge from under all that weight and when she emerges her "real life" will begin. However, life throws Plum a curve ball and she is unexpectedly asked to reevaluate her dreams.
What did it make me think about?
This was a novel to talk about! Someone else read this and e-mail or call me! It made me think of how we treat those that are different in our culture- especially those that are overweight and diminished because of it. This book has something to say about the importance of a woman's appearance in our society, the role the fashion industry in our perception of what beauty really is, and the incredible amount of money that is spent on making woman look a certain way. This book made me think a lot!
Should I read it?
Be warned this is a feminist novel with a strong viewpoint. If you do not want to be challenged to think differently, then do not read this book! I found the premise fascinating. I did not always agree with what the author was saying, but I did see her point. The novel and plot were extreme, so you must suspend logic, but this author had something to say!
Quote-
“Because I’m fat, I know how horrible everyone is. If I looked like a normal woman, if I looked like you, then I’d never know how cruel and shallow people are. I see a different side of humanity. Those guys I went on the blind dates with treated me like I was subhuman. If I were thin and pretty, they would show me a different side, a fake one, but since I look like this, I know what they’re truly like.”
“Explain why this is a good thing.”
“It’s a special power. I see past the mask to the real person underneath. I’m not living a lie like so many other women I’m not a fool.”
Question-
What did you think?
If you like this try-
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.